Subscribe to this blog

Follow by Email

Poll Results: Was going for 2 points against Boise State the right decision?

Bronco Mendenhall’s decision for the Brigham Young Cougars
to go for a two-point conversion, and the win, against Boise State was NOT the
right decision according to 72 percent of poll voters. There were 22 percent of
voters who thought the two-point conversion was the right decision, and four
percent of voters were undecided.

Over one week later, I am still having a hard time coming to
a definitive decision.

The way the question was posed, I guess, you can say it was
obviously the wrong decision because it didn’t work, but we never know how the
game would have ended, let alone overtime, if BYU took the 8-7 lead. If you
interpret “the right decision” as “a good decision” or “a smart decision” then
the answer is not so definitive.

The first thing to remember is that there was still 3:37
left in the game. If BYU took an 8-7 lead or tied the game 7-7, then Boise
State would not have come out and run out the clock. They would have been
trying to score.

The Cougar defense played a great game, but they weren’t
lights out. If you listened to the post game podcast,
you would have heard me explain that Boise State had nine plays of 10 yards or
more, and five drives of 25 yards or more. This matters more to the outcome in
overtime, since both teams start at the 25-yard line, but it also could have
had implications on the rest of regulation.

I have seen several games where one defense dominates, but
when the clock is running out, and the opposing offense is forced to move the
ball and score, all of a sudden, that impotent offense can move the ball and
even scores. In a sense, that is exactly what happened with BYU driving 95
yards for the touchdown. While I love the BYU defense this year, I wouldn’t have
been surprised to see Boise State “magically” flip a switch and start moving
the ball really well.

As for overtime, BYU could have easily lost the momentum
that they had at the end of the game. As I have explained in the last two MoMoments for some unknown reason, momentum doesn’t seem to carry over very well from the
end of the game to overtime. In 2009, Utah scored the final 14 points of
regulation, but BYU was the team that scored the touchdown in overtime and won.

When the decision was made, I was surprise. I had assumed
BYU would kick the extra point and tie it. Unlike Mendenhall, I hadn’t even
considered going for two and the win. Since that was my response in the heat of
the moment, I guess that makes my vote “No” it wasn’t the right decision.

Thank you to everyone who voted. Don’t forget to come back
and vote in the new poll question that will be posted shortly following the
Hawaii game.

Popular Posts

Kyle Van Noy had a huge game for the New England Patriots. He was making plays from the very first drive to the last. The defense was stout in the second half not giving up a touchdown to give the offense the time it needed to win the game.

He will play in his second Super Bowl in two weeks. The opponent is yet to be determined.

Van Noy tied for the team lead with nine tackles. He also had a tackle for loss and a pass break up. However, he took a lot of flack from fans for getting bulldozed on a touchdown run by Leonard Fournette. That came just a few plays after he made a three-yard tackle for loss. There was also a lot of complaining about Van Noy's tackling technique on a third down play that allowed the ball carrier to get the first down by a yard. Jacksonville went on to kick a field goal on that drive. On the game's opening drive, V…

Some athletes get a lot of attention because of their parents. In many cases, like Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball, it isn't good attention. For former BYU running back Jamaal Williams, his mother Nicole has brought nothing but positive attention to her son. First, it was her pedigree as a UCLA track athlete. Later, it was her passion in the stands, caught on camera, supporting her son and BYU. Thanks to those television cameras and the social media era, Nicole Williams joined her son in earning a place in the hearts of Cougar fans worldwide.

In a recent interview with Blue Cougar Football, Williams fondly said of BYU, "It was a great time. I miss it."

She has two lasting memories of her son's playing career.

"The first one is his first touchdown. I always remember it was against Utah," Williams explained. "The second one would be when he broke the rushing record, and they put the banner up in the stands. That was a very emotional moment.&qu…

The simple narrative for BYU Cougars football is as follows: Before head coach LaVell Edwards came along in 1972, the BYU football program was below average, to put it mildly, except for a couple of seasons in the mid-1960s. Until now, the player who gets the credit for those outlier seasons is quarterback Virgil Carter. However, a new exhibit in BYU's Legacy Hall sheds light on the legacy of another player from that era who was equally responsible for the success that inspired Edwards. In fact, looking closer at the numbers, and a great debate of "what came first, the chicken or the egg" ensues over who really deserves the credit for BYU's first ever conference championship and eight-win campaign the following season.

Carter has a legacy as BYU's first record-setting quarterback who paved the way for the long string of legendary quarterbacks produced under Edwards. He rewrote the BYU record books, and even set his share of NCAA records.